


The Secret Prince

by chemically_imbalanced_romance



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Abusive Parents, Background Prinxiety - Freeform, Child Neglect, Emotional Manipulation, Gaslighting, M/M, Manipulation, Minor Character Death, corrupt leadership, his relationship w logan is very healthy, it doesn't even last a chapter, it's very very brief, queer is used a lot but not as a slur and it's in the narration, the gaslighting and manipulation is between the parent and deceit, there's major character death but it's temporary
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-06
Updated: 2019-07-27
Packaged: 2020-04-11 20:34:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19117210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chemically_imbalanced_romance/pseuds/chemically_imbalanced_romance
Summary: Prompt: “Haven’t you taken enough from me?!” Forbidden lovers Loceit





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I go into some “history” about drag shows in the first chapter, and I think it’s important to state that this is a fantasy world, thus the history of drag in this world is going to be at least a little bit different than in the real world. Take what I say with a grain of salt.

Deceit snuck out every night. 

He got a few hours of sleep, before creeping out of bed to pull on his cloak and handmade wooden mask, painted with sparkly green scales. He had to be quiet, because he never knew how close his dad was. He used the uneven wall outside his window to carefully climb down, sweat beading on the back of his neck. He jumped the last few feet, boots sinking into soft soil, and snuck out through the garden. 

As usual, the streets were packed. The people used to stare, but they were now accustomed to the stranger wandering around and joining in on the festivities. Some people even greeted him. There were advertisements all over, reminding people of the monthly drag show happening in the theatre. Deceit followed the flood of people heading in that direction, pulling his hood down to let the night air bite against his skin. 

Deceit had read books on drag shows, how they used to be private affairs that served as a refuge for queer people, mainly transwomen of colour, long before they were accepted into society. Since he started sneaking out, Deceit had met many people, of all sexualities, genders, and colours. These drag shows were the start of their freedom. 

“You  _ have _ to let me in!” 

Deceit stepped to the front of the line, where a man with light brown skin was arguing with the guard. People bumped and shoved past him, dropping gold and silver coins into the barrel as they went. 

The guard put a hand on his chest. “This is the price now. If you can’t afford it, leave.” 

The man’s face flushed with anger and embarrassment. “My little brother is in there getting ready for his first performance. I can’t miss it!” He raised his voice, glancing around at all the people who didn’t give him the time of day. “Am I the only one who feels  _ robbed _ ? You can’t raise the entry fee so high in such short notice! It isn’t fair!” 

“Damnit, kid, don’t make me drag you out of here-” The guard cleared his throat as he saw Deceit. He yanked the man out of the way. “Hey, Deceit. Welcome back.” 

“Hi, Heath.” Deceit pulled a handful of coins out of his cloak and dropped them in the barrel. 

“Um, I think you’ve overpaid-” 

“I don’t think so.” Deceit wrapped his fingers around the man’s bicep. “And the rest is your tip. For doing your job so well.” 

Heath blushed. “Right. Uh- Thanks, sir. You two can go on in.” 

Deceit dropped his hand as soon as they were in the theatre. The corridor was dark and narrow, with black walls and carpet. The only thing lighting their way was torches with green fire. Deceit stopped along the way at the snack booth. 

The man stopped next to him, crossing his arms over his chest. “Where the hell did you get that kind of money?” 

Deceit shrugged. “I’ve been around.” He spent more money than he should have on snacks, and when he turned around, the man was gone. 

The corridor opened up to the biggest room in the Kingdom, with a stage and thousands of seats. Half the people in the audience came from other towns and Kingdoms. Deceit found his seat, and got ready for the show. 

The lights went down and the stage lights came on. People erupted into cheers and screams, some people jumping out of their seats to clap or wave signs, as the queens strutted on stage. They lined up along the edge of the stage, all posing as they were introduced. The announcer said their names, pronouns, and why they joined drag culture. Some people characterized their persona into someone flamboyant and proud for the stage, and to others it was clear this was a step towards everyday life. 

Most queens performed through dancing, singing, or monologues. Some teamed up and reenacted scenes from popular queer plays. One queen, a genderfluid kid named Virgil, gave a speech he wrote himself. It was clear he had never been on stage before; he stuttered more than a few times, and stood far too still. He came on a little later than his cue and took a good few seconds just staring at the crowd. 

His dress, which he made himself, was a vibrant purple ombre with sparkling rhinestones all down the skirt. It looked like a royal ball gown. 

When he finished, the audience, including Deceit, screamed for him, and he left the stage with a huge smile- Just like everyone else. 

Deceit had considered entering the show one day, but he didn’t know where he would hide his dress. He kept a sketchbook wedged between his bookshelf and wall, though, full of all his ideas. 

After the show, Deceit filed out along with everyone else. A few streets over, bored and thinking of what to do next, he saw Virgil, walking with the man he paid the entry fee for. Deceit’s heart stuttered- Virgil was seriously hot, and he couldn’t think of a better excuse to talk to him. 

Deceit grabbed the man’s elbow, and they both turned to him. “Hey,” Deceit said. Nervous butterflies fluttered around his stomach. “Enjoy the show okay?” 

“Yeah.” The man hesitated, and then, somewhat reluctantly, “Thanks for helping me get in.” 

Virgil sighed in frustration. “I’m sorry about that, I didn’t hear about the raise until today. I can pay you back-” 

“No, no.” Deceit chuckled, waving his hand. “No, it’s fine. I never got your name, though.” 

“Logan.” He crossed his arms over his chest and raised an eyebrow. “Yours?” 

“You can call me Deceit.” He winked, visible through the large holes in his mask. 

Virgil wrinkled his nose. He didn’t look impressed. 

“‘Deceit?’” Logan laughed. “What’d you do to earn a name like  _ that _ ?” 

“I gave it to myself!” He glanced at Virgil; he was looking more uncomfortable by the second. Logan, though… Deceit brushed his fingers against Logan’s arm. “Are you busy right now?” 

He briefly wondered how he could make out through his mask. He’d figure it out. 

Virgil cleared his throat. “We were going to get dinner.” 

“I did promise to spend the night with him,” Logan said, “but you’re free to join us.” 

Virgil eyed Deceit, a little suspiciously, but sighed and nodded. “Just because you got him inside.” 

Deceit followed them through town excitedly. He’d never had a conversation that long before! “So you really made your dress yourself? I have a sewing machine at home and…” 

He rambled on all the way to the restaurant, barely letting either of them get a word in. Logan watched, amused. 

He finally quieted down as their server approached them, his nametag reading  _ Roman _ . “You guys come from the drag show?” 

Deceit nodded, smiling. “Yeah! Virgil preformed!” 

Roman looked Virgil up and down suggestively. “I can see that. Too bad I missed it. I was supposed to be there, but I can’t afford the new prices. I’ve been going every month for three years, but now…” 

“It’s because the King raised the taxes again,” Logan said. He took a sip of his tea and rolled his eyes. “He’s going to kill every bit of performance art in the whole Kingdom.” 

“He  _ says _ he’s putting the money in the royal guard,” Virgil grumbled, “which wouldn’t be too bad, if he was telling the truth.” 

“I don’t know about you,” Roman said, “but I’d rather be free than protected.” 

He laughed. “What’s the point of being free if you’re dead?” 

“Are you kidding me?!” Roman put his hands on the table, grinning and leaning forward. “It means  _ everything _ . Anyway, war isn’t even that imminent. The King is just overreacting.” 

“Wouldn’t be the first time,” Virgil agreed. 

“It’s not like we can do anything about it, anyway,” Logan said. “He doesn’t listen to us. What’s the point arguing if it won’t change anything?” 

“Deceit?” Virgil frowned. “You okay?” 

He had gotten very stiff. He gripped the edge of the table, looking out the window at all the people he loved so much, at all the people their monarch would kill if their existence became too inconvenient. “The King,” he said, “is a selfish, greedy tyrant. He has never, and  _ will _ never, do anything with the interest of the people in mind. Anything he does to help us is a mistake, collateral damage.” 

Logan, Roman, and Virgil glanced at each other. Thick silence pressed against them. 

“Um,” Roman smiled, “can I take your order?” 

Roman brought them their food, along with a slip of paper for Virgil. He unfolded it, speaking through the fork in his mouth. “Looks like Roman’s planning a revolution.” 

Deceit nearly choked on his food. “ _ What? _ ” 

Virgil chuckled, showing the slip of paper. It was a letterbox number, labelled  _ Future King _ . 

“Are you going to write him?” Logan narrowed his eyes as Deceit glanced at the clock tower through the window. 

Virgil shrugged, putting it in his purse. “Maybe.” 

“Sorry to cut this short,” Deceit said, hurrying out of the booth, “but I gotta go.” 

Logan jumped, frowning. “What’s the rush?!” 

“No time to explain!” Deceit grinned, rushing away. 

He ran back through the forest, the royal garden, scraping his palms as he rushed up the castle wall. He ripped his cloak and mask off, shoved them in the back of the closet, and yanked the covers up to his shoulders, just in time for his door to unlock and open. 

His heart was beating so hard and so fast that it hurt. His dad sat at the edge of his bed for a moment, brushing his hair back. He kissed Deceit’s forehead and stood, tidying up his bedroom. 

His dad only spent a few minutes longer in his room, and when Deceit thought he might actually be having a heart attack, he left. 

Deceit sat up and looked around his bedroom; at the towering bookshelf, the toilet, the fridge, stove, dresser, desk. Everything he needed was in this room. His door might as well have not even been there. 

Deceit laid back down, exhausted, and went to sleep. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Deceit finds out something bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tws: Hardcore manipulation; Execution/murder threat; The f*ggot slur, but it’s reclaimed and the person is calling themselves it, and it’s a joke; Mistreated/abused staff

The sun spilling through his curtainless window woke him up in the morning. He was still on an emotional high, laying in bed for a while and remembering the night he had. He kept going back to Logan, how he demanded to be let in, how the coloured lights sparkled along his dark skin- How  _ cute _ he was. 

Deceit buried his face in his pillow, nearly giggling. He was  _ really _ cute. 

He eventually got himself up and started cooking breakfast. His dad came in halfway through, without knocking, and told Deceit to sit down. Deceit yawned and rested his head on the table as the King finished cooking. 

He set a plate of food down in front of Deceit and sat across from him. “How’s your book going?” 

Deceit spoke through a mouthful of food. “Good. I finished it last night,” he lied. “The ending was good.” 

When Deceit was younger, when he was too little to cook or garden or clean, all he did was read. His favourite was adventure stories, where the characters got to explore all over, for miles and miles, and always had a happy ending. 

“I’ll bring you more soon,” the King promised. “Until then, you should focus on your studies. Don’t think I haven’t noticed you’ve been slacking.” 

Deceit sighed dramatically, scowling into his pancakes. “I don’t want to,” he grumbled. 

“If you work on your classes today, I’ll take you out to the garden.” 

Deceit perked up. “Okay!” 

His dad chuckled and ruffled his hair. He made his way to the door. “I’ll be back in a few hours. If you get enough work done, I’ll take you outside.” 

He left, and Deceit abandoned his breakfast to pull one of the books, which were the size of his head, off the shelf. He took notes on the chapters he read, the way he taught himself to do, and walked through the worksheets his dad dropped off. A nasty headache sprouted up halfway through, but he worked through it. 

A few hours later, the King let himself back in. “Alright, let’s see what you’ve done.” 

Deceit held out the worksheets, his stomach tying into knots. He got through nine worksheets. 

The King clicked his tongue disappointingly as he looked through them. “These are great, but…” 

Deceit’s eyes watered. “What? What’s wrong?” 

“You’re still so behind.” He set the worksheets down. “Why don’t you work for a few hours more and we’ll see about going out tomorrow?” 

He started to leave, and Deceit jumped up, grabbing his hand. “No- Wait! Please!” Tears trickled down Deceit’s face. “Please,  _ please _ let me go outside today.” 

The King sighed, yanking his hand out of Deceit’s grip. “You’re acting like a child.” 

“You  _ promised _ .” 

“I said I’d take you to the garden if you did enough work,” he said. “You didn’t.”

Deceit let out a sob, turning around and burying his face in his hands. The King watched for a moment as he cried. 

“You really want to go outside today?” 

“Yes,” he whimpered. “Please.” 

“Okay.” The King came to hug his son from behind, and kissed the top of his head. “You’re lucky I’m good to you. Get dressed.” 

He sniffled. “Really?” 

“Yes. I’ll leave your door unlocked, I’ll be waiting for you right out in the hall.”

Deceit rushed to get dressed, pulling on a pair of tan trousers, a dark green shirt, and the boots he snuck out in. When he leaves his room, the two screens he walked between were already present. He gripped the handles, walking them alongside him. 

The castle was huge, and the walk was quiet. It was excruciating. The screens merged in the back, and his dad walked in the front, so he was completely closed off from the outside world. He was so  _ bored _ . 

The King lets Deceit walk free of the screens once they reach the garden. The path Deceit used to sneak into the woods was just a few feet away. He could break out into a sprint, run away, far, far away and never come back. Maybe see the big farm on the outskirts of town, the one that fed the entire Kingdom. In truth, he was bored of the garden. It hadn’t changed since he first started visiting it when he was eight years old. 

He sat under the big apple tree where he first learned how to climb. He taught himself. His dad had laughed when he couldn’t get up to the first branch; he fell, scraped his knee, and an apple fell on his head. 

“Sweetheart, you’re just too weak,” he said gently. “You can’t do it.” 

So Deceit clenched his jaw and tried again. It took him a week and two broken toes, but he learned how to climb a tree. 

Now, in the middle of the summer, there were no apples. They had all been picked and hauled off in the spring to sell to the staff working in the castle during their breaks. But Deceit still remembered how wonderful the first apple he ever picked for himself tasted. 

The door opened, and Deceit looked at his dad in confusion. The King put himself bodily between Deceit and the staff member. 

“What are you doing in here?” The King snapped. His face was red with fury. “You know better than to come in here when it’s reserved! Do you want to be fired? Do you want to be  _ executed _ ?! I’ll put a bounty on your head so high every peasant in the Kingdom will be after you and your family’s lives!” 

The staff member looked at her feet, cowering. “Highness, there’s news on the snake.” 

The King paused. He turned to Deceit and hauled him to his feet. “Go further into the garden,” he commanded, “and don’t listen.”

Yeah. Right. 

Deceit nodded, winding through trees and foliage until he made a circle. He climbed into a bush near his apple tree, just barely being able to see through the leaves. Branches pricked and scratched at his skin, but he ignored it. 

“It was at the drag show last night,” she said, twisting and pulling at her apron nervously. “A few witnesses saw it leave with a man and one of the queens.” She fumbled with her apron for a moment, and produced a photo. Deceit couldn’t get a good look. 

The King stared at it, growing solemn and angry. “We have to find it. It’ll drive us into poverty if we don’t.” 

“Should… Should we raise the taxes again?” 

Deceit grimaced; that would be the fifth time that year. 

His dad actually thought about it for a moment, narrowing his eyes at the picture. Finally, he shook his head. “We don’t need to draw any more attention to this. Let’s handle it quietly.” He ripped the picture in two, dropping it to the floor. Deceit’s eyes widened. The King walked away, telling the staff member to pick it up, and started calling Deceit’s name. 

Deceit stared at the picture for a moment longer, at  _ his _ picture, the picture of  _ his _ mask and cloak, standing outside the theatre and helping Logan inside- and scrambled to his feet. 

He hurried a few feet away, and nearly ran right into the King. The King laughed, picking leaves and things out of Deceit’s hair. 

“God a bit too excited, huh?”

His smile faded as he caught sight of Deceit’s hands. He picked them up, bringing them to his face to inspect. They were scraped and bleeding from climbing the castle wall last night. 

“I was trying to climb a tree,” Deceit said quickly. “I fell.” 

The King sighed. “What have I told you about climbing trees?”

He looked away. “That I can’t,” he mumbled. 

“Exactly. Now you’ve gone and hurt yourself.” 

The King made him leave the garden then, and on the way back, paranoia overtook Deceit. Did he hide his mask well enough? Would his dad find his cloak? He had an excuse ready when he didn’t know his dad had seen it before. Did he have more pictures? If he looked at them long enough, would he be able to tell it was Deceit? 

The first thing he did when he got back to his room was hide his costume better. 

He considered, briefly, not going out that night. But he figured now that he knew he was being followed, he could evade them. He wasn’t as stupid as they thought he was. 

He snuck out that night, taking a different route into town, with a lot of money in his pocket. He walked around, bored and paranoid. The people that used to seem so friendly to him, he couldn’t trust. Any one of them could be working for the King, for his father, against him. 

How could this be fair? All he wanted was to spend some time outside, to talk to people other than his father. He wanted to stare at something that wasn’t his bedroom ceiling, to taste something that wasn’t cooked in a pot, to hear something that wasn’t silence so heavy it brought him to tears. 

All he wanted was to  _ live _ , and now he was being hunted for it. 

“I am  _ not _ eating that.” 

“You won’t try it with me? For science!” 

Deceit perked up at the familiar voices. Virgil and Deceit met eyes over Logan’s shoulder; Virgil sighed as Deceit made his way over. 

Logan almost smiled as he saw him. “You again. You wanna try rattlesnake with me?” 

Deceit blinked. “Sure?” 

“Cool.” He turned to the lady behind the counter. “One rattlesnake please. Verge, what do you want?” 

“Normal food,” he laughed. “Uh, deep fried raven wings.” 

“Boring.” 

They stepped out of the way as she made their food. “So, what brings you back out here?” Logan asked. 

“Just looking for some fun.” 

“Well, you found it.” 

Deceit smiled. “Oh, I’m allowed to hang out with you guys?” 

“It’s a privilege you shouldn’t take lightly.” 

Virgil grimaced. He thanked the lady as he took his food. “Sure, a ‘privilege.’ Eating fair food with the Faggot Brothers.” 

Deceit laughed. “Do people call you that?” 

“They used to,” Logan said, “until we did, too.” 

They found a place to sit, and Logan pulled off two pieces of snake. It stretched far, then ripped and snapped back like rubber. Logan handed Deceit a wooden cup the size of a shot glass. 

“What’s this for?” 

Logan poured watery red liquid into their cups while he talked. “Take a bite of the snake, take a shot, swallow.” 

“Have you done this before?” Deceit asked in disbelief. 

“I’ve read about it. Threetwoonego.” 

They popped the snake pieces in their mouths, threw back the spicy sauce, and chewed. Deceit almost choked, his eyes watering. It tasted like the sweetest fish he’d ever had, but covered in chili powder and paprika. The sauce bounced off all the sweetness in spice that set his mouth on fire. 

Virgil watched, smiling in delight through his wing, as Deceit coughed up his insides. Logan’s face was red from laughing; he hadn’t broken a sweat. 

“That’s poison!” Deceit insisted, wheezing. 

“Here.” Virgil held out the bucket, and Deceit took a sing gratefully. 

Logan finished his snake alone while Deceit and Virgil shared the raven wings. Once they’d thrown their trash away, they walked aimlessly through the streets. Deceit mostly just listened to them talk, amazed at how different their lives were to his. 

At one point, Virgil’s started to complain about his job. 

“What do you do?” Deceit asked. 

“I work in a potion shop.” 

Deceit choked. “What?!” 

Logan and Virgil looked at him strangely. “What?” 

“Those are  _ real _ ?” 

Logan and Virgil glanced at each other, and laughed a little. “Yeah,” Virgil said. “What, is this your first night outside?” 

“I always thought they were fantasy,” he said, embarrassed. 

“Potions…” Logan chuckled. “They’re just as real as… Coffee. Hell, we can even afford a good amount of them, and we can’t afford much.” 

Deceit blushed. “Oh. What was bothering you earlier?” 

Virgil sighed. “This girl came in, like, three times. She kept asking for a resurrection vial, but we haven’t carried those since 2012. She kept saying ‘look in the back’ but it wasn’t there.” 

“What do you do?” Deceit asked Logan. 

“I’m a scientist,” Logan said. “I work in crop research.” He winked. “I know a lot about vegetables.” 

“Why, what do you do?” Virgil asked. 

Deceit considered lying, but he figured if he didn’t even know potions were real, how could he be sure his lie made sense? 

“I don’t have a job,” Deceit admitted. 

Logan raised an eyebrow. “You’re kidding.” 

“Nope.” 

“Then how do you have all that money?” Virgil asked. 

“I trade a lot,” Deceit said, “and I’m pretty charismatic. I’m good at getting people to give me good deals.” 

“Even with the mask?” 

“ _ Especially _ with the mask.” 

“Everything about you says ‘liar,’” Virgil joked. “I don’t know how anyone trusts you. It’s like…” 

It was just a second- Just one second of luck. Deceit’s attention was grabbed by a screaming child, and next to her was a photographer, her camera pointed right at him. Deceit put all his strength into shoving Logan and Virgil into an alley, out of frame of the picture, just in time for the light to flag. He sprinted away. 

 

He considered going back, finding Virgil and Logan to apologize, but decided against it. He didn’t know what he would say. Instead, he headed home. 

He had about an hour to spare before his dad was due back to check on him, so he changed his clothes and picked the lock on his bedroom door. He snuck down to the kitchen, hiding from and dodging around the late-working staff. They had bloodshot eyes and were constantly yawning. 

He pulled some pastries out from under their covers, sitting on the floor as he ate. Every once in a while someone would pass through, but no one came behind the counter. Afterwards, he wandered around, seeing all that had changed since the last time. 

He found a door marked ‘private.’ He immediately picked the lock, and went inside. 

It was an office, a whole wall dedicated to an investigation. Someone was consistently stealing from the royal vault. Dozens of pictures were posted on the wall, a list of suspects. Some of them were labelled civilians, but most were labelled staff. A good amount of them had red X’s painted over them, noted as either ‘interrogated’ or ‘dead.’ 

Deceit’s blood ran cold as he stared at himself, marked as ‘prime suspect.’ 

He hurried to rifle through the notes on the desk, pulling out the packet with his name on it. He ran back to his room and scanned through it, eyes widening in horror. 

The Kingdom was blaming Deceit because he showed up from nowhere, didn’t have a home in the Kingdom, and had no identification- Among many, many other reasons. The list went on and on. They were determined Deceit was responsible for the robberies. 

He didn’t know what else to do- He flushed the notes down the toilet. He knew the Kingdom had more copies. He knew the King blamed him. He knew how fucked he was. 

And there was nothing he could do. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warnings: Weed mention, homophobic parents mention, completely unrealistic snake behavior, very manipulative and abusive parenting, panic attack, screaming

Deceit stayed home for three nights. 

The first night, he lay in bed and watched the stars move across the sky. One of the books he had read was about a little boy who was obsessed with space; he wanted to be a ‘star sailor’ when he grew up. Deceit wasn’t sure if star sailors were real or not, but he could imagine little people floating around in space, napping on constellations. 

The second night, he couldn’t sleep at all. He read two books and ate half the food in his cupboard. He finally dozed off as the sun touched the horizon. 

The third night, he nearly lost his mind in boredom. He tried reading, cooking, and drawing, but couldn’t focus. He knew he wouldn’t be able to handle another night inside, another night of being hidden away, being forgotten. 

What was the worst that could happen, anyway? 

He walked around for a little while once he got to town, just relieved to be outside again. He followed the crowd, as usual. They were all babbling and either dressed seductively, flamboyantly, or both. There was clearly an event going on. Snowflakes floated through the air and melted on people’s hair and jackets. He had some ideas for a winter friendly disguise- Maybe it was time to start putting that together. 

Someone grabbed his arm, and his heart jumped in his throat. He whipped around, tensed and ready to run, and relaxed. It was just Logan. 

Logan raised an eyebrow, confused by Deceit’s body language. “What?” 

“Nothing, nothing.” He cleared his throat and forced up a smile. He had recently cut a mouth sized hole in his mask for, uh, reasons. “Where’s Virgil?” 

Logan took his hand as they rejoined the moving crowd. “He has an early shift, so he’s staying home. Where’ve you  _ been _ ?”

Deceit’s stomach turned. “Just around. Lots of places to explore in the Kingdom, you know?” 

“Right… Are you going to the drag show tomorrow night?” 

He wanted to- He went to every show -but he couldn’t get the picture out of his head. “I never go to the same place twice.” 

Logan dropped his hand and stepped in front of him. He crossed his arms over his chest. “Can you knock it off?” 

Deceit blinked. “Uh, what?” 

“If you can’t tell me shit, whatever, but don’t just brush me off. It really pisses me off.” 

He was confused; he’d never met someone who didn’t love when he was being mysterious. It was really convenient. But now Logan was mad at him, and he didn’t know how to fix it. He didn’t want to lose his only friend. 

“If you can’t be honest with me, or at least honest about  _ why _ you can’t tell me, I don’t want to talk to you. It’s not worth my time.” 

“But- But I  _ can’t _ ,” Deceit said. “I can’t give you a real answer.” 

“Why?” 

“You wouldn’t believe me.” 

Logan rolled his eyes. “Try me.” 

“I can’t risk that!” Deceit had never felt so exposed with his mask still on. “It would hurt me- It could hurt  _ you _ . Please don’t make me tell you.” 

Logan watched him for a moment, thinking hard. 

“Were you headed anywhere special right now?” 

Deceit shook his head. 

“Come on. There’s a festival a few blocks over.” 

Deceit followed Logan back to the crowd. As they got closer to the commotion- Shouting and laughing, grilled meats and vegetables -Deceit asked, “What’s going on tonight?” 

“Traveling fair. They go pretty much everywhere in the realm to entertain, recruit new people. They usually only spend two nights in each settlement, but the Kingdom is so fucking big they spend a whole two weeks here. Opening night is their biggest, but I had friends in school who came a couple different nights a week.” Logan glanced at him, and laughed at the wonder in his eyes as he took everything in. “I feel like you grew up somewhere different, as  _ something _ different. Now you’re falling out of the sky every dusk, and sucked back up every dawn. This is a whole new world to you, isn’t it?” 

Deceit blushed. He nodded. 

“Come on. There’s something I want you to see.” 

Passing by a slew of fire jugglers, knife experts, marijuana vendors, and some chefs, they finally arrived at a street corner a little bit away from the commotion, where a couple of people with dyed hair and piercings were handling snakes and birds. 

There was a tall girl with pale skin, a hooked nose, and long black hair holding a raven on her arm. A man with spiked hair the colour of his bird’s feathers was holding a peacock- He was wearing street clothes, silver ripped jeans and a big white muscle tee, with combat boots and fishnet gloves. Logan fawned over the birds for a while, watching them do tricks in the air, but Deceit’s eye was set on the King Cobra taking a nap under a streetlamp. 

The man sitting with her smiled as Deceit wandered over. “Snake fan?” 

Deceit nodded, lowering to sit in front of her. “What’s her name?” 

“Grace.” He lightly ran his fingers from the top of her head, down half her back. “I’m Patton.” 

“Deceit.” 

“Intriguing.” He giggled. He couldn’t have been any older than Deceit was. “You looking to join? Because I have a sign up sheet-”

“No, no.” Deceit chuckled. “No, I’m staying put.” 

“Really? That’s a shame. You already have the right look. Tell me, who goes around calling themselves Deceit, wearing a cloak and mask, if they plan on staying put?” 

“I do.” 

Patton shrugged, setting the sheet down. “Not like you don’t have any time to change your mind. I’ll be here all week. Well, our caravans are parked down by the big lake, but show hours, I’ll be here.” 

“Why’d you join the festival?” Deceit asked. 

He smiled. “I really love people, and I really hated where I lived. There were only ten families, including my own. They were too strict. I realized I was gay, and I knew that didn’t fit in with their rules, so I left the second the festival hit town.” 

“What’s gay?” 

Patton blinked at him. “What?” 

Deceit blushed, thanking God that Logan chose that moment to walk over. He sat next to him, resting a hand on his back. 

“What’s going on?” Logan asked. 

Patton giggled. “Your boyfriend doesn’t know what ‘gay’ means.” 

Logan nearly choked. “You-  _ What? _ ” 

“I like other boys,” Patton said, “instead of girls.” 

Oh. 

“ _ Ohh. _ ” That made a lot more sense. 

“So, did you want to pet her?” Patton asked. 

Deceit gasped. “I can?” 

“Yeah! Just- Here. Let me see your hand.” 

“Wait, wait,” Logan started, “I don’t think that’s a good idea-” 

Deceit didn’t listen, holding his hand out. Patton guided his hand down Grace’s smooth scales; in her sleep, she maneuvered so her head rested in Deceit’s lap. He tensed up, grinning so wide it hurt. 

“What if she bites him?” Logan asked. “Is she venomous? Is she docile? What if she wakes up? Do you have any antidote? Potions?” 

“She’s  _ fine _ ,” Patton insisted. “She’s never bit anyone in her life. We wouldn’t do this if it weren’t safe.” 

“And she still has her teeth?” Deceit asked. 

“Yep. We found her on the side of the road about a year after I joined. I jumped out of the caravan to go check on her and she was almost dead. One of our chefs was a vet before he quit to join the festival, and he saved her life. She hasn’t bit anyone.” 

Logan hesitated, and gently ran his fingers through her back. “I’ve never pet a snake before,” he admitted. 

“Well, I would hope not.” 

After leaving the snake, they walked around for a little bit longer. The festival had a pretty small cast, so it didn’t take long to get through everything. They shared a kabob on their way out. Deceit knew he had to be home soon, but for some reason, he just kept walking in the opposite direction. 

“So… Why the snake?” 

Logan shrugged, tossing the stick in the garbage. “I’m a fan of irony.” 

Deceit shook his head. “No, I mean, why did you take me to see the snake? Why are you still hanging out with me? Don’t I, like, break your rules or whatever?” 

Logan thought for a moment, watching the pavement as they walked. “If someone can’t be totally honest with me, I cut them out. Immediately. If I feel like they  _ might _ be trying to hurt me, or deceive me, I cut them out.” He shrugged. “I just don’t feel like that with you. I don’t know why your hiding, or what you’re hiding from, but I know it’s got nothing to do with me. So… We’re good.” 

Deceit smiled. 

“Besides, when it’s not getting on my fucking nerves, the mysterious thing is kind of hot.” 

_ I knew it! _

“We can’t, like, go out,” Deceit said, his voice cracking halfway through. This conversation was never written in his books. Not like this, at least. 

He didn’t seem angry. “Can I ask why?” 

Deceit frowned at the ground. “I can’t tell you.” 

They walked in silence for a little while. They were the only people on the road, in a neighborhood where the only street light they could afford was the moon. 

“Okay,” Logan said after a while. “So we won’t date then. We’ll just hang out. That’s it.” 

He thought it was what he wanted, but Deceit still felt a little disappointed. They agreed to meet at Roman’s cafe at midnight the next night, and split up. 

Deceit woke up the next morning still dreaming. He imagined taking his mask off, showing Logan what was underneath. He wasn’t anything special really- Messy curly hair, some freckles, pale skin. There was a big, light brown birthmark right under his eye, like a big splotch of paint. It used to make him self conscious. 

His dad came in while he was making breakfast again and finished it for him. He spoke on and on and on, but Deceit couldn’t pay attention. He was wondering what Logan was doing. 

“Did you have a good dream?” The King asked as he sat across from Logan. 

“The best,” he sighed. 

“Did you leave your room last night?” 

Deceit tensed up. His dad handed him a plate, and he stared down at it. He wished he had his mask. “No.” 

“Really?” He faked a smile- It was ugly. “Because there were some anomalies in the kitchen.” 

Deceit’s entire soul could have been expelled from his body, he relaxed so hard. 

“A bunch of sweets are missing,” he continued. “Some cookies, other pastries.” 

“I’m sorry,” Deceit blurted out. “You accidentally left the door unlocked and I wandered out and they were just sitting there and it looked so good and-” 

“Baby, baby, please.” The King came to kneel in front of him, taking his hands. “I don’t  _ care _ . Okay? You did the wrong thing. It’s your responsibility to not leave your room. Honestly, I shouldn’t even have to still be locking your door all the time, I should be able to trust you!”

He squeezed his eyes shut as they filled with tears. “I’m sorry.” 

“What if someone saw you?” The King continued. “It’s not safe. Why would you even want to leave? I can bring you anything you want! Anything at all! Noone wants to see you anyway, my love.” 

“I know,” Deceit mumbled. He tried looking away, but his dad grabbed his chin and forced Deceit to meet his eyes. 

“ _ Nobody wants to see you _ . Can’t you understand that? How could you be so selfish?” 

Deceit burst into tears, shoving his dad as hard as he could. “I KNOW! STOP TELLING ME THAT!” 

The King flared in anger- He grabbed Deceit by his hair and yanked him out of the chair, dragging him to the middle of the room. Deceit screamed in pain. 

“I’m going to keep telling you until you get it through your head!” He snapped. “I am the only one who’s ever loved you, and I’m the only one who ever willed. When I brought you home the first night my assistant  _ cried _ you were so ugly, my wife left me! And I kept you anyway!” 

Deceit held his arms over his head, his forehead pressed into the ground, his eyes squeezed shut. His dad kept talking, and talking, and talking, and Deceit screamed. He opened his mouth and screamed. 

His dad knelt next to him and wrapped Deceit up in his arms, pulling Deceit into his lap and rocking them back and forth. 

“It’s okay,” the King whispered. “It’s okay, it’s okay. I love you anyway. I’ll always love you. But you have to listen to me, okay?” 

His dad rose to his feet, and Deceit looked up blearily. “No- Wait, what are you doing?” 

“I’m grounding you.” He went over to his bookcase, Deceit’s heart pounded as his dad started turning it around. “No reading for a week.” 

His dad stopped as Deceit’s hidden sketchbook flopped onto the ground. He picked it up and flipped through it for a moment, landing on the drawing of Deceit’s drag outfit. 

“Please,  _ please _ , don’t take it,” Deceit begged. If his dad saw the drawing of his winter disguise… 

He glared at the drawing. “Go to bed,” the King said, tucking the sketchbook under his arm. “You’re grounded. I’ll be setting up a 24 hour guard around your room. A shame I can’t trust you.” 

The King slammed the door shut behind him, the lock clicking. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Deceit and Logan have an amazing date.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warnings: Intense anxiety/fear, lots of death/murder/execution mentions, yelling/smashing/your general manipulative adult temper tantrum, crying/sobbing/panic attacks, manipulation, lmk if i missed anything

Deceit carefully folded his cloak and slid it, along with his mask, into a satchel he made. It was sloppy and last-minute, made of whatever fabric he had lying around. He opened his window, peeking outside. His dad had kept his promise- There were at least a dozen guards outside. 

He grabbed a bag he had filled with pots, pans, and glass things and threw it as hard as he could. It made a horrendous sound as it hit the ground, and all the guards went running towards it. 

He wasted no time- He swung his leg over his windowsill, practically sliding down the wall. The vines burned and ripped up his hands. When he got close enough, he jumped, landing on his hands and knees. He hissed in pain, gritting his teeth and jumping up. 

He sprinted through the complicated garden, past dying roses and hedges taller than his head. He had memorized a map of this place long ago, so he knew exactly where he was- 

He ran face first into a guard. 

He grunted as he hit the ground. Looking up at the guard, he had never been so terrified in his entire life. 

For a second, he thought it was over, thought he had ruined his life. He was heaving for breath and could barely think, he felt like he was going to throw up. His heart pounded in his throat. 

He noticed a few things, though- For one, the girl’s uniform said ‘chef,’ so this wasn’t her usual job. And she was alone. 

“I’m sorry,” he managed, sucking in big breaths. “I- I was in town, and there was a thief- He was chasing me- I knew the castle would be safest. Please-  _ Please _ don’t turn me in to the King!” 

She helped him up, careful of his hands, looking troubled. They both knew that if the King knew she let someone go, she would be killed. And she thought he was trespassing on the castle’s ground- That was punishable by death, too. 

“Just go,” she finally whispered. “And don’t let anyone see you!” 

He thanked her about a million times, and was about to head off, but hesitated. “Wait. Uh…” he glanced at her nametag, “Jasmine. Do you… Do you know what you were called in to protect?” 

“How do you…?” She shook her head. “All we know is it’s the King’s personal property, and has been known to escape before. We think…” Her face paled a little. “Um, never mind.” 

“No, tell me.” He frowned. “It’s not like I can tell on you, he’d kill us both.” 

She hesitated, and dropped her voice to a whisper. “We think he smuggled in an animal, or stole it from the traveling fair. The guards who work the shift by the door hear something moving around in there.” 

He knew he shouldn’t say it. It was wrong, it could get him in trouble, it could hurt his dad… 

“Do you think he’s keeping a person in there?” 

Her eyes went as wide as saucers. 

He was trembling, out of breath, by the time he finally made it to Logan. He was waiting outside the cafe, his arms crossed. 

“You’re late.”

He got a hold of himself, clearing his throat and adjusting his mask. “I’m sorry, it’s a long story.” 

Logan raised an eyebrow. “That’s it?” 

He frowned. “What?” 

“‘It’s a long story?’” He laughed humourlessly. “I’m gonna need a reason. You can’t be an hour late and just say ‘it’s a long story.’” 

Deceit knew he  _ wanted _ to tell him. Other than the anxiety, the only thing that was keeping him from telling Logan was, well, he knew he shouldn’t. He had to ask himself, what was more important, Logan’s safety, or their relationship? And for just a second, his answer was their relationship. 

“Okay. Um…” The cold night air blew through, ruffling Deceit’s outgrown hair. “My dad wanted me to stay in. He tried to keep me in, so I had to sneak out. It took longer than usual- Than I expected. It took longer than I expected.” He blushed. 

“Does your dad keep you in every night?” Logan asked haltingly. 

He looked away, mumbling, “Uh, for the most part.”

“Are you  _ ever _ allowed outside?” 

“Yes!” He cleared his throat and crossed his arms over his chest. “Yes, alright?” 

“Hey, hey,” Logan frowned, reaching for his hand, “it’s alright.”

Deceit hissed in pain, and yanked his hand back. Logan frowned, flipping it over and looking at his palm. It was torn to all hell, still bleeding, and covered in dirt. Logan cupped his hand around the back of Deceit’s, avoiding his palm. 

“I know,” he mumbled, “I just- It’s not important, okay?” 

“Deceit,” he said softly. “You can tell me. You can.” 

He pursed his lips. “Not really, he doesn’t. He just- He doesn’t like me going outside, he tries to keep me in the house. He doesn’t want anything to happen.”

“‘Anything to happen?’” Logan laughed gently. “Like what?” 

Deceit frowned. “I… Don’t really know, actually. He’s never specified.” 

They stayed quiet for a moment, Deceit refusing to look at Logan. Finally, Logan asked, “Are you ready to go?” 

“Huh? Go where? I thought we were eating here.” 

“I have a better idea.” 

Logan pulled Deceit down the street, their fingers lacing. There were less people out tonight than usual; they easily weaved in and out of crowds. 

“Okay,” Logan came to a stop in the centre of the city, draping an arm over Deceit’s shoulder, their hips pressed together. “How much of the Kingdom have you  _ actually _ seen?” 

Deceit blinked. Logan was suddenly very close. “Uh, not much. Why?” 

“What’s something you’ve always wanted to see?” 

He laughed nervously. “What? Nothing. I mean, we can go anywhere, I don’t-” 

“ _ Deceit _ .” His free hand came to rest on the back of Deceit’s head. “You have to be curious about  _ something _ .” 

“Well, uh…” He blushed. “I want to see the farm. On the south side of the Kingdom? But they don’t let anybody in who doesn’t...”

Logan grinned. 

“...What?” 

“I work there.” 

Deceit was going to marry this boy. 

Logan led them to the train station, and for a second, Deceit was a little disappointed. In all his books, when the main character went on a date with a boy, the boy paid for everything, but Logan didn’t have the kind of money to do that. And then Deceit remembered- He was a boy, too.  _ He _ could be that boy. And maybe Logan could get the next one. 

He paid for their train tickets, and they found two empty seats in a barren train car. 

“I have a question,” Logan said as the Kingdom passed by faster than Deceit had ever seen it. 

“What?” 

“How did you find out about the farm? I mean, when I said ‘anywhere,’ I kind of expected the zoo, or the castle-”

“You can’t go in the castle,” Deceit said. “They’d kill you.” 

“Right.” He chuckled. “I guess you know more than I give you credit for. Why, uh, the farm?” 

“That- That wasn’t a bad choice, right? Because we can go somewhere else! We can go to the zoo if you want-” 

“Deceit,  _ no. _ ” Logan took his hand, running his thumb over his knuckles. “I said anything  _ you _ wanted. Besides, it makes it easier on my part.” 

Deceit relaxed, and smiled. “When I was eleven, I wanted to start gardening. I was bored of all the reading, and the painting, and the cooking… I wanted to try something else. So my dad bought me everything I needed, and a book on agriculture. It talked about the farm all the time and it had a lot of pictures, too. I want to tend a farm that big one day.” 

“Wait, your dad just bought you all that stuff, right off the bat?” 

“Uh, yeah, why?” 

Logan looked surprised. “He must have a lot of money. Verge and I have to save up for months for a book we want. What does he do?” 

“Uh, he- He’s a manager.” Deceit paused.  _ A manager? Really?  _ “Yeah, he basically bosses a bunch of people around and gets rich off it.” 

“Wow.” Logan chuckled. “Who is it, Terrance Williams?” Deceit shook his head. “Camden Foote? David McCarthy? Jamahl Rawls?” 

“No, no, none of them.” 

“Uh, Deceit?” He laughed. “I just named the  _ only _ rich men in the Kingdom, other than the actual King.” His smile faded as Deceit stared at the ground. “Right. You don’t want me to know who it is. I forgot. Uh, my bad. I guess I just got… Carried away.”

“It’s okay.” 

They sat in awkward silence for a moment, Logan looking out the window. 

“Is it Joan S.?” 

“They’re not even a man!” 

“Well, I had to ask!” 

The train dropped them off a few blocks away from the farm, and they walked the rest of the way. Logan let them in with his key. 

“Okay, most of the farm hands live onsite, so we have to be quiet.” 

“Why don’t you?” 

“Well, I would, but they only allow people who work there,” Logan said, “not even family members. Virgil tried to get me to go anyway, but I’d never just leave him.”

Deceit had almost forgotten about Virgil. He was suddenly really intimidated. Virgil was introverted and moody, and Logan loved him more than anything in the world. If Virgil didn’t like Deceit, then Deceit was screwed. Nothing could happen between the two of them. 

Logan showed Deceit around the farm, and Deceit had never in his entire life been so excited. They went to the barn first, and Logan showed him how to approach all the animals. Logan took some peanuts out of a container on the wall, and Deceit nearly cried as the pigs ate them out of Deceit’s hands. They went to the stables next, where Deceit renamed all the horses (Logan’s favourites being Frankenstein, Baby Boy, and Spooky). 

“You really like animals, huh?” 

“Well, it’s my first time seeing any,” Deceit said. 

“What- EVER?” 

“Other than that snake, yeah. And sometimes there’s birds in the garden, or they fly by my window. Why? Has- Has everyone seen them?” 

“Well… Yeah. Maybe one day you should meet a dog, or five. And some cats. And hamsters, and-” 

They went through all the crop fields, and Logan thought Deceit might pass out from excitement. 

“I’ve always wanted to grow crops in the winter! I’ve never been able to, though, because most of them grow in the ground and I only have those tiny planter boxes and it’s so hard to care for them just in my room. This is so cool! I’ve never seen a carrot in the ground before!” 

“Do you want to harvest one?”

“I CAN?!” 

“Shh!” 

Deceit apologized, Logan laughing. Logan taught Deceit how to harvest a carrot, and then they put it back in the ground. 

“Won’t you get in trouble?” Deceit asked. 

“None of the workers are strict, and the overseers don’t step foot in the fields,” Logan promised. “Don’t worry, no one will even know.” 

After that, Logan took Deceit to the duck pond. They were all sleeping and neither had brought any corn, but they ran their fingers through the water and took a break from all the walking. At one point, Deceit got carried away and splashed a handful of water in Logan’s face. 

Logan gasped, and Deceit thought he was really in trouble for a second, and then he asked, “Is your mask waterproof?” 

“Um. Yes? Why?”

“Paint and all?” 

“Yeah, it’s all waterproof-” 

He squeaked as Logan dunked his head in the water. 

Logan took him to the lemon orchards next, where all the fruit were almost finished turning a vibrant yellow. They took their shoes off and Deceit took Logan’s hand, walking through the soft soil. 

“So,” Logan whispered, as they were close to the barracks now, “is it everything you wanted?” 

“It’s perfect.” Deceit glanced up; the moon was hidden behind the thick branches of leaves arching above their heads. “It’s everything I wanted.”

“Well, maybe, if you ever move out, you can work here, too,” Logan said, a little nervously. “And maybe then we can see a lot more of each other.”

Deceit looked at him. “You want to see a lot more of each other?” 

Logan smiled. “Yeah.” 

He stopped, turning to face him. He dropped his shoes and hesitated, then grabbed hold of his mask. He started to lift, and then-

“HEY!” 

“Run!” 

Deceit grabbed his shoes and they sprinted in the opposite direction. The farm hand that caught them yelled for the guards, and soon enough, the guards were right on their heels. 

Deceit pulled Logan behind the barn, talking fast. “Okay, close your eyes.” 

“What?!” 

“Close your eyes!” 

“Deceit, we don’t have time, if I get caught I’ll be fired!” 

“Just close your eyes!” 

Logan groaned, and squeezed his eyes shut. Deceit pulled his mask off, settled it onto Logan’s face, turned him around, and shoved him. Logan started running again, and Deceit hurried to follow. They got off the farm’s ground, frost crunching under their feet, and dove into the forest. Logan pulled Deceit into his arms, Deceit burying his face in his chest, and they held their breath. 

The footsteps chasing behind them quickly passed, and soon enough, they were just standing their, breathing heavy, and holding each other. 

Logan tried pulling Deceit’s face out of his chest, but he shook his head. “Oh- Right. Um, here. I’m closing my eyes.” 

When they were situated again, Logan opened his eyes, and he looked disappointed. 

“I should get home,” Deceit said softly. 

“Right,” he mumbled. 

“Can we do this again? Well, maybe not  _ this _ , but…” 

Logan chuckled. “Yeah. Yeah, that’d be great. Is tomorrow okay?”

“Yeah.” Deceit smiled. “That’d be great.”

Deceit got home in a daze. All he could do was think about Logan, and how much he regretted not kissing him. Maybe it would be okay. Maybe it wouldn’t affect Logan at all, maybe they would be totally fine. 

He put his cloak in the back of the closet, and forgot about his mask until he got into bed. He groaned, and shoved it under his pillow. He overslept, to the point where his dad had to wake him up. 

“Baby, come on, time to get up,” he said, laughing. “How late did you stay up?” 

“Can’t I just have a little longer?” 

There was no answer. His dad tugged on his pillow. 

“Dad?” He cracked his eyes open, still exhausted. 

His heart dropped to the floor. 

“What’s this?” His dad asked, staring at the mask. He looked way too calm. “Are you-” He laughed, “Are you the one stealing from the vault?” 

“What?” Deceit sat up- He had trouble breathing. “No!” 

“Get up,” he snapped, whipping the mask at the wall. Deceit hurried to obey as the King threw the closet door open, tearing through his clothes. It only took him a few seconds to find the cloak. Deceit had never seen his dad look this angry, especially as he pulled the pouch full of gold out of his pocket. 

“That’s not from-”

“SHUT UP,” he snapped. He stormed towards Deceit and pushed him against the wall, holding the bag in his face, “Damien,” he said lowly, “where did you get this?” 

“Trading!” He insisted. “And gambling, and- and selling art!” 

“No.” The King shook his head. “No. There’s just no way you’re that smart. Admit to me that you’ve been stealing from the vault.” 

“I’m not!” 

He shoved the bag in his pocket and flipped the bed over, so hard the bed frame cracked. Damien whimpered as his dad tore up his room- He smashed his sewing machine, tipped over his bookcase, threw all his clothes out the window. He ripped up all his plants and stomped on them, he threw all his food at the wall. By the time he was done, the King had left only a pillow and a blanket laying on the floor, and Damien hadn’t moved. 

The King stopped at the door as Damien hiccupped and sobbed. “You’re a thief,” he said, “and a liar. And if you weren’t my son, I’d have you executed. You have no  _ idea _ how lucky you are that I love you,” he hissed. “So you’re going to stay in here until you’re ready to tell the truth.” 

He pulled the door shut and turned the lock. Damien slid down the wall, and cried until he fell asleep. 


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan and Damien enjoy their last night together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warnings: More of the usual manipulation/gaslighting/general parental emotional abuse, crying/panic attacks, lots of talk about how if damien disappeared it wouldn’t make a difference, and a little reminder that this fic has a happy ending

Damien watched from his blanket as one of his father’s servants boarded up his window. 

“I just wanted some time outside.” His eyes were swollen, his voice rough. 

The man didn’t answer. The room was silent aside from the monotone hammering. 

“Nobody knows you exist,” he said after a while. He took a seat on the stool he was standing on, staring down at his hammer. He looked sad. “No one knows the King has a son.” 

“What did you think was in here?” 

“Not his  _ kid _ .” 

That was fair. 

“Why would the King even  _ hide _ a kid? Everyone’s been wondering who’s going to take the throne when he dies, and-” He sighed. “I just don’t get it.” 

“Me neither,” Damien mumbled. 

“There’s a prince no one knows about!” He dropped his hammer and put his head in his hands. “I can’t believe…” 

Damien couldn’t bear the thought of never going outside again. He couldn’t bear the thought never going to see drag shows, or petting another animal, or spending the night with his friends. He couldn’t bear the thought of never seeing Logan again. Of Logan thinking he stood him up, just disappeared on him… 

He would rather die. 

He glanced at the servant’s name tag. “Jeremiah.” 

Jeremiah looked up, surprised. “Yes?” 

“You- You can help me, can’t you?” 

He stood back up on the stool, hammering in the boards again. “Oh, no. No, no, no. I can’t.” 

Damien jumped to his feet, going over to him. “Come on,  _ please? _ Just for one night! I just need one more night!” 

“Shh!” The man stepped down again, grabbing his shoulders. “Are you  _ trying _ to get me killed?” 

“No- I’m sorry, I just…” Damien squeezed his eyes shut as they filled with tears again. “I- I  _ have _ someone, you know? And I can’t just leave him with- with no explanation!” 

“Wait.” Jeremiah held back a grin. “It’s a guy? You’re dating a guy?” 

He paused. “Uh, yeah? Why?” 

Jeremiah laughed. “Oh, my God, the King’s secret son is  _ gay _ . That’s brilliant. Wait-” he faltered, “Does he know you’re gay? Because maybe that’s why-” 

“No, he doesn’t know. Why would that be why?” 

Jeremiah blinked at him. “Well- Never mind. Don’t worry about it.” 

He put his hammer away and picked up his tool bag. He started to leave, but Damien grabbed his wrist. 

“No, please! Please, I have to see him. Just this once, just this last time.” 

Jeremiah hesitated. “I could get killed for this.’ 

He groaned in annoyance. “Yeah, they all say that.” 

“Uh…” Jeremiah laughed. “You’ve gotten people to help you before?”

“Yeah, a couple,” he said sarcastically. “And they’re all  _ fine _ . I’m good at this! Please, help me.” 

“Fine, fine,” he whispered. “ _ Fine _ . Just- Be ready by midnight, okay?” 

Damien crossed his arms over his chest, glancing around his empty room. “Well, it might take me a while. I’ve got a lot to do today. Could we shoot for 1:30?” 

Jeremiah chuckled and ruffled his hair. Damien startled, looking up at it in confusion. 

“See you at midnight.” He left. 

Damien spent the day napping and laying around. He was so bored, and so hungry. He didn’t even have his sketchbook to so much as doodle. 

He was out of his mind by the time Jeremiah got back. He was holding a tub labelled ‘books.’ 

“Are we ready to go? Can we go? Is it time to go?” 

“Alright, calm down,” Jeremiah chuckled. He set the tub down. He looked at Damien, inspecting him silently for way longer than Damien was comfortable with. 

“Okay, okay, what?” 

“Well… Hm. You can fit in here, can’t you?” He pulled the lid open. The tub was empty. 

“Maybe? Where are the books? And why are you just carrying them around?” 

“Uh…” He looked nervous. “The King sold all of your stuff, and… I figured if I bought all the books, I could carry you out without anyone being suspicious.” 

“Where, um…” Damien forced a smile. “Where are all my books?”

He frowned. “I had to- I had to dump them in the well. I’m sorry, but… You want out of here, right?” 

Damien felt all the air pushed from his lungs. It was like Jeremiah had slaughtered all his friends. 

“Yep,” he managed, straightening up. “Yeah, of course. Let’s just get going, okay?” 

As Damien climbed into the tub, he asked, “Hey, how could you even afford all those? Aren’t castle jobs the lowest paying?” 

“Well, yeah.” He settled the lid on. “I’ll pretty much be in debt for the rest of my life. But I’m not married, and it’s not really in the plans either, so the only person I’ll be letting down is me.” 

“You don’t want to marry?” 

“Shh. We’re leaving now.” He lowered his voice. “No, I’m, uh, aromantic. I’ve never really been interested in dating or- Nope, just thinking out loud. See you tomorrow.” Pause. “Yeah, never really been interested in dating or any of that stuff.” 

“Good evening,” a woman said as Jeremiah stopped moving. 

“Hi, Jasmine.” He set Damien down somewhere. 

Then, they were moving much faster, the carriage’s wheels creaking against the road. 

“I still can’t believe you bought all those books,” Jasmine said. “I mean, where’d you even get all that money?” 

“Don’t worry about it, okay?” He chuckled. “Maybe go easy on me during our dinner dates.” 

She laughed. “Of course.” 

They eventually arrived, and after they said their goodbyes, Jeremiah opened the lid and let Damien crawl out. 

He cracked his back, groaning. “‘Jasmine?’”

“Uh, yeah. Why?” 

“I know her. Dark skin, really green eyes?” 

“Yeah. She’s my best friend. How do you know her? I feel like she would have told me if-”

“She helped a scared, innocent stranger escape from the King’s guards?” 

“Oh.” He nodded. “Yeah, she wouldn’t tell anyone that.” 

“Well, thanks for the help.” Damien smiled a little. “It really means a lot.” 

“Before you go, tell me something.” 

“Okay.” 

“You’re out. You could be halfway through the Kingdom by morning if you just picked up your boyfriend and kept going. Why are you going to come back?” 

“It wouldn’t be right,” Damien insisted. “Do you know how many people my dad would kill if he even knew I was gone? He would put the blame on  _ everyone _ . I can’t do that.”

“But…” Jeremiah frowned. “This is your  _ life _ .” 

“Yeah, so?” He laughed a little. “Nobody even know I  _ exist _ . I’m not as important as all those other people.”

Jeremiah wished him luck, and he left. He found Logan in town, and unlike when he was late before, he looked worried. 

“Logan, thank God you’re still here.” He threw his arms around him, hugging him tight. 

“What- Deceit? Is that you?” 

“Yeah, it’s me.” He knew he was freaking Logan out, but he didn’t want to let go. 

“What happened?” Logan hugged him tight. 

Damien couldn’t help but start crying again, burying his face in Logan’s shoulder. “Can we talk?”

Logan took him back into the woods, down by a lake with a rushing waterfall. It was right at the edge of the Kingdom, butt up against the wall. Damien imagined what the lake looked like before his father decided to split it in half. He claimed it was too dangerous to leave open, but the last war in the realm was over a thousand years ago.  

Damien went to speak, and stopped. Logan was staring at him. “What?” 

“You’re just…” Logan laughed. He reached up and cupped his face in his hand, running his thumb over his birthmark. “You’re just everything I want, you know?” 

Damien started crying again, resting his hand over Logan’s. 

“What?” Logan asked, panicked. “What’s wrong? Was that not okay?” 

“I can’t see you anymore,” he sobbed. He quickly explained everything that happened, Logan looking more and more upset as he spoke. 

“Wait, wait… ‘Servants?’ Your dad has… Servants?” Logan, looking pale, pulled his hands back. “That would make him…” 

Damien bit his lip. “Yes… My dad is… The King.” 

“Your dad’s the-” He coughed, jumping to his feet. “Your dad’s the King. Your dad’s… the King.” 

“Wait, what’s wrong?” Damien looked up, wiping his eyes. 

“Your dad’s  _ the King _ !” Logan looked horrified. “He was named the Cruelest Man Alive! I shouldn’t even be on his  _ radar _ ! If he knows- If he knows I’m dating his son, I-” 

Damien dropped his head in his hands, sobbing harder. Logan paused, watching him, his tense shoulders drooping. He sat back down and pulled Damien’s hands away from his face. 

“No, I’m sorry. I just…” He pressed their foreheads together. “If it was just me, it’d be different. But I have Virgil to look out for. I can’t put him in danger, you know?”

“I know,” he whispered. “It’s okay. It wouldn’t make a difference, anyway.” 

Logan pulled Damien back into his arms, and Damien cried quietly. 

“I know that, um…” Damien sniffled and hiccupped, “this is kinda stupid. Because, well… I haven’t exactly had a full life, so I don’t really know how much this actually means-” 

“Deceit,” he said softly. “What?” 

“You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.” 

Logan closed his eyes, pulling Damien closer. 

“You can’t stay?” Logan whispered. “You really have to go back?” 

“I’m sorry.” 

Damien pulled back just enough to look at him, and Logan cupped his face. They leaned forward and kissed, Logan running his fingers through his hair, Damien pressing closer. 

“How much time do you have?” Logan asked softly. 

He didn’t want anyone else to get hurt. God knows how many people his father has already killed for his previous escapes. But this was his last moment with Logan, and he needed it to last as long as possible. 

Damien kissed him again, and Logan gently laid him on the ground. The waterfall pounded into the lake, drowning out every other noise as they moved together, kissing and pulling at each other’s clothes. 

“Please don’t go,” Logan whispered, grinding their hips together. “Please, stay with me. We can bring Virgil and leave the Kingdom and we can be safe. We can be together.” 

“I can’t. I want to so bad, I’m so sorry, but I can’t.” 

They stayed together for hours, kissing and holding each other, until Damien ran out of time. They were both crying as they kissed goodbye. 

Part of Damien hated himself for leaving. He knew it would be so easy to stay with Logan, to escape. And he felt like he deserved it- He spent his whole life being alone, in that room, with just himself and  _ sometimes _ his dad. It wasn’t right, wasn’t okay for him to give this up, to throw his entire life away. 

But then he thought about all the people his father was going to kill, all the people he knew would be missed, how nobody would even notice a  _ difference _ if Damien died tonight- 

And he went home.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things get worse, and then they get better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warnings (for this chapter): That temporary major character death I was telling you about, pretty intense depression and apathy, really really intense manipulation seriously it’s rough, assault, blood, gentle reminder that this fic has a happy ending

Weeks passed. Damien never left his room, barely even got up from his spot on his blanket. His dad visited him once, after a week, to bring him food. Damien had to stop himself from eating it all at once. He was starving. 

For the first time in years, he started going to sleep at a normal time, and sleeping through the night. It took a while to make his sleep schedule cooperate. Part of it was just old habits, but even when he was dead tired, he couldn’t fall asleep. He laid restless for hours most nights. 

His thoughts kept him up at night. He was so depressed, he couldn’t function; he was tired all the time, even just the thought of getting out of bed made his head foggy and his eyes water. He was given a new sketchbook, and a fresh set of pencils- As a peace offering, he thought -but he couldn’t bring himself to use it. He got tired after just a few moments. 

He couldn’t imagine spending the rest of his life in this routine. 

When his dad came in to bring him groceries, Damien asked why he had him. He was usually too scared, or guilty to question his father, but now he didn’t care. 

“I wanted a son,” he said. “You just didn’t come out like I wanted.” 

“Then why don’t you get rid of me?” 

“Because I love you too much.” 

Damien had no choice but to believe him. 

It had been a month since his dad found the mask when he was shaken awake. 

“Virgil?” He mumbled, confused. He sat up. 

“Shh.” Virgil held a finger over his mouth. His shoulders and hair were wet with melted snow, and he had a patchwork satchel hanging off his shoulder. He looked horrible- He was paler than usual, his eyes red and bloodshot, dark bruises under his eyes. 

“What’s going on?” Damien whispered. 

“I…” Virgil’s voice broke. He looked away, speaking shakily. “I came to tell you that I’m leaving.” 

“Leaving? You mean leaving the Kingdom?” 

He nodded. “The traveling fair is leaving at sunrise. I’m going with them.” 

“What about Logan?” 

“Logan’s dead.” 

Damien’s heart stopped. “H-How… How did he…” 

“Your dad.” He smiled bitterly. “We were asleep, and some people broke into our house and took him. They brought him here and killed him.” 

Damien broke down crying, which made Virgil lose it, too. Virgil pulled Damien into his arms and let Damien bury his face in Virgil’s shoulder, muffling his sobs. Virgil shushed him, sobbing silently, not wanting to get caught. 

“I’m so sorry,” Damien whispered, hiccuping and struggling to breathe. “I’m so sorry.” His head was swimming and his stomach was clenching painfully in guilt he didn’t think he could bear. 

“It’s okay.” Virgil held him tighter, pressing his face into Damien’s hair. “It’s not your fault. It’s not your fault.” 

After a while of crying, Damien pulled back and sniffled. “How- How did you get in?”

Virgil laughed weakly. He unzipped his bag, showing Damien that it was full of gold. “Not my first time.” He grabbed Damien’s hands. “Come with me.” 

“What? No, I-” 

“Deceit,  _ please _ .” He pursed his lips as he started to cry again. “He just wanted us to be safe. Let’s- Let’s  _ leave _ , and be safe.” 

Damien sucked in a shaky breath and squeezed his eyes shut. 

Logan was dead. 

Logan was dead. 

He thought back to their time together on the farm, and how terrified Logan was to be on his father’s radar. 

“I have to talk to my dad.” 

Damien jumped up and stormed out of the room, and Virgil scrambled to follow. Damien asked Virgil to lead him to his dad. 

“Alright, this way.” Virgil grabbed his hand and led him down the halls. “He’s in his study.” 

Damien threw the door open so hard the doorknob cracked against the wall. The King jumped up, gasping. 

“Damien! What the hell are you doing?! Who’s this?” 

“Why did you kill him?” Damien demanded. 

“What? Kill  _ who _ ?” 

“ _ Stop lying. _ ” He clenched his fists. “Or do you kill so many people you can’t remember them all?”

His dad’s eyes widened, and then his face turned scarlet with anger. He stood up, glaring down at his son. “Are you out of your mind?!” 

“His name was Logan Sanders.” Damien thought back, to his determination at getting in to see his little brother perform for the first time, at the look in his eyes when he tried to kiss Damien. Their hearts pounding as they ran off the farm, the guards at their heels. “He never did anything to you,” he choked out, his throat clogging up with sobs, “he never did anything at all!” 

Damien’s dad walked around the desk, and Damien stepped back, heart pounding with fear. “‘ _ Logan’ _ was the one you were sneaking off to be with. And I assume this is his brother.” 

Damien was suddenly very aware that he brought the most wanted thief, carrying a bag full of stolen gold, directly to the King. 

He quickly changed the subject. “What does it matter if I go outside?” 

“It’s an embarrassment!” His dad exploded. “We’ve gone over this a thousand times, Damien,  _ a thousand times! _ What don’t you understand?!” 

“If I’m such an  _ embarrassment _ to you, maybe I should leave,” he spat. 

He looked surprised. “What makes you think that?” 

“I don’t want to spend my entire life in that bedroom,” he insisted. “I  _ can’t _ ! And I don’t  _ care _ if I embarrass you!” 

His dad took another step forward, and Damien took another step back. Virgil grabbed his arm. “You can’t leave.” 

“Why not?” 

“You would really do that to your father? You’d do something so horrible to me?” 

His stomach coiled with guilt. He almost backed down, embarrassment crawling hot up his spine. And then Virgil squeezed his arm, and Damien looked back at him- At his bloodshot eyes, his skin paler than usual. There was a persistent sadness in his eyes that wasn’t there when Logan was alive. 

Damien looked back to his dad. “You’re killing people. You’re keeping me hidden away. It isn’t fair.” 

“Then we can talk about this.” There were only a few steps between them. Damien inched to the side to cover Virgil with his body. “You don’t need to  _ leave _ ,” his dad said. “What’s the matter with you? Who raised you to be so dramatic?” 

“Nobody raised me! You’re the only person I’ve ever known until i started sneaking out! And taking me out to the garden once a week isn’t  _ raising me _ .” 

“Damien, go back to your room. We can talk about this later, when you aren’t so worked up.” He tried to look sad, or worried, but Damien saw right through him. He was terrified. “I’ll have a bed brought to you, you can get a good night’s sleep. Come on, baby, let me walk you to your room.” 

He reached out for him, and Damien smacked his hand away. “What, so you can kill him, too?! The only friend I have left- The only  _ good thing  _ I have left? Haven’t you taken enough from me?!” 

“Damien-” 

“I’m leaving.” Damien reached back and grabbed Virgil’s hand. 

“No, you’re not.” 

Virgil squeezed his hand. “You can’t stop me. I’m leaving and I’m never coming back.” 

The King’s expression fell, and he suddenly looked very, very serious. “If you walk out that door,” he said, “I’ll throw you, and your friend, into the basement chambers for the rest of your lives. You’ll never see the sunlight again. You’ll starve to death in there.” 

Damien hesitated. He wouldn’t be responsible for something so horrible happening to Virgil- He wouldn’t. 

Virgil stepped forward. “We’re leaving,” he said firmly, and he pulled Damien towards the exit. 

The King’s eyes widened in surprise, and then narrowed in anger. He grabbed Damien by his hair and dragged him back into the room. 

“NO!” He shrieked. “NO, LET GO!” 

Virgil dropped his bag, rifling through it. The King kicked him hard as he walked past, sending Virgil toppling to the ground. 

“Don’t think I’ve forgotten about  _ you _ . Trespassing on the castle’s grounds is a crime punishable by death, you know. And who knows what you have in that bag?”

The King was in the doorway, when he groaned in pain, dropping Damien. Damien scurried back, behind Virgil, who was holding a cut off pipe. 

The King held Damien against the desk, and it dug into his back painfully. His dad’s hands were around his throat. 

“I warned you.” 

Then, when spots were starting to take over Damien’s vision, there was a loud  _ smack _ , and his dad fell onto the ground. Blood seeped around his head. Virgil was standing behind him, holding a pipe. 

“Did you kill him?!” 

“I don’t know.” Virgil put his pipe away and grabbed Damien’s hand. “We have to go.” 

“Where the hell did you get that?” Damien asked as they hurried down the halls. 

“What, you think I’m gonna rob the castle with no protection? Go, go.” 

Damien followed Virgil through the castle, and they started sprinting as a couple of royal guards noticed them and started chasing them. They turned a corner and skid to a stop, a guard blocking the hall. 

Virgil grabbed his pipe, but Damien stopped him. “Wait.” 

“What the hell are you two doing?” Jeremiah hissed, stomping towards them. 

“I’m trying to leave,” Damien said weakly.

“You should have done that a while ago-” 

“I know!” 

Virgil peeked around the corner while they talked. 

“I- I was trying to save people,” Damien said, “but… but my boyfriend’s dead and I just want to leave.”

“Can we hurry this along?” Virgil asked. “They’re coming.” 

“God, you’re going to get me  _ killed _ ,” Jeremiah sighed. “Come on, come on, Jasmine’s waiting outside. Just hurry.” 

The three of them rushed down the corridors, Jeremiah taking them out a side exit. 

“What- Jeremiah?!” Jasmine cried as Virgil and Damien jumped into the carriage. 

“Just go!” Jeremiah jumped into the passenger seat. “Just go, I’ll explain later. Duck your head, don’t let them see your face.” 

As Jasmine rushed them off the castle grounds, Virgil and Damien stuffed themselves in the floor of the carriage. 

“Where did you put his body?” Damien asked. 

“What?” Virgil looked at him in confusion. “ _ Why? _ ” 

“Did you cremate him?” 

“No, we didn’t have the money.” He gestured to the bag. “That’s what this is for. He’s waiting in a freezer at the Mortician’s right now.” 

“Go get him.” 

“ _ What? _ ” 

“What the hell are you two talking about back there?” Jeremiah asked. “I know you don’t have much experience with the world yet, kid, but black magic doesn’t exist.” 

“Just go get him,” Damien said in frustration. 

“Okay, fine.” 

“Alright,” Jasmine said, sitting up straight now that they were back in town, “so we’re dropping the small thief off at the Mortician’s- I’m assuming he knows how to get in. Where’s the prince going?” 

“Virgil said he works at a potion shop. How many are there in the Kingdom?” 

“Uh, a couple dozen,” she said with a laugh, pushing her long red hair out of her face. 

“I work at the one on the corner of Elizabeth and Monica.” 

“Okay, take me to that one, please.” 

“What the hell are you going to do in the potion shop?” Virgil asked. 

“I’m going to find a resurrection vial.” 

“ _ What? _ ” 

“Those were discontinued  _ five years ago _ ,” Jeremiah insisted. “There won’t be any.” 

“No, I read a book on potion dealers a few years ago. I always thought it was fiction. Alchemists have always,  _ always _ sent a free bottle to all their clients after discontinuing a product- Most of them go into ‘forever collections.’ They used to be kept in the owner’s homes, but that encouraged vandalism and robbery. If your store owner keeps a forever collection, it’s definitely hidden somewhere in the shop.” 

Virgil blinked at him. “I’m so glad Logan wasn’t here to hear that.” 

“Okay, we’re dropping Virgil off first,” Jasmine said. 

“The place is crawling with guards.” Jeremiah sunk down in his seat a little. “Just watch where you’re going. He must have sent out a royal order.” He glanced back at the two boys, the one with the purple hair and the one with a birthmark covering almost half his face. “Might not be too easy to lay low, huh?” 

“I’ll manage,” Virgil said. “I’ll get off here, just slow down a little.” 

“What? I can stop-” 

Virgil dropped something in Damien’s lap, opened the door, and jumped out. Damien jumped up to look out the window. Virgil rolled a few times and then jumped up, sprinting in between two buildings. Damien ducked down as a guard looked their way. 

He pushed the two pouches of gold Virgil left into Jasmine and Jeremiah’s hands and hurried to the potion shop. The door was locked, so he went around to the back. The door back there was locked, too, but there was a high window. He floundered for a moment, looking fruitlessly for any other way in, and then groaned. 

He picked up a rock, tossed it between his hands for a minute, and paused. He hesitated, and hesitated, and hesitated, and then threw it. 

He squeaked and missed the window. 

Okay. He had to do this for Logan. Plenty of people did breaking and entering. Virgil was doing it right now, for God’s sake. 

He picked the rock back up, held his breath, and threw it as hard as he could. He ducked, covering his head as the window shattered. He pushed the trashcan up against the wall and jumped the rest of the way to the window. He easily scrambled inside, years of climbing up those vines coming in handy. 

He landed on the wooden floor of the storage room in the back, surrounded by boxes. He tore through them, all the boxes labelled ‘classified,’ ‘fragile,’ or the ones with locks. None of them had a forever collection, and none of them had a resurrection vial. 

He went through every box in the room, every box under the counter, and couldn’t find anything. He couldn’t help but start crying again, fear twisting his insides. He was holding off on mourning, so certain he would have Logan back in his arms soon- But what if he didn’t? What if Logan was really dead, gone forever? What if that night by the waterfall was all they had? Damien would never forgive himself. 

He screamed in anger, throwing his fist against the ground- And it cracked. The wood was incredibly thin. He hit it again, and the floorboard broke in half. Upon pulling up several more, he found that underneath the shop was hollow, aside from sporadic stilts. He pulled up half the floorboards before he finally found a long wooden box, letting out a cry of excitement. 

His fingers were scraped and bloody, but he pulled open the box, filled with extinct potions. He found the slim, curvy bottle filled with sparkling white liquid. He held it to his chest, sobbing in relief. 

He left the rest of the potions and jumped up to leave the store. He ran into Virgil outside, tears running down his face as he held Logan, his skin blue. 

Virgil stumbled and fell to his knees, Damien dropping down with them. “I found it, I found it, it’s okay.” 

Damien skimmed the instructions on the back and filled the cap with the potion. Virgil forced Logan’s mouth open and Damien fed him the potion. It glowed all the way down his throat, brighter than sunlight. It turned Logan’s veins white. 

“Here, take this.” Damien pushed the potion into Virgil’s hands, who put it in his bag while Damien put his head to Logan’s chest. 

It was silent. Dead. 

“Is it working?” Virgil whispered. He looked terrified. 

Damien didn’t answer. He didn’t want to admit that he gave Virgil hope for no reason. 

And then he felt it- A tiny, faint heartbeat. Damien wasn’t sure it was even real until, a minute later, it came again, a little stronger. 

“There they are!” 

“It’s working, it’s working.” Damien gathered Logan into his arms. “We have to go.” 

“Follow me, I know the quickest way to the fair.” 

They ducked into an alley, the sun quickly starting to rise. Logan’s hand curled into a fist against Damien’s shirt, his entire body erupting into shivers. 

“He’s waking up!” 

“In here, in here.” Virgil ushered them into a broken down building, the window popped out of the frame. 

Damien hurried inside and Virgil followed. “Logan?” Virgil stopped in front of them, shrugging his jacket off and wrapping it around his brother. 

“We don’t have time, the fair’s gonna leave soon-” 

“Just give me a minute,” Virgil snapped. He came over and took Logan’s hand, squeezing. 

“V-Virgil?” Logan croaked out, and started coughing. 

“Don’t talk, it’s okay,” Damien mumbled, both of them trying not to cry again. “It’s okay.” 

“Okay, let’s go,” Virgil mumbled, kissing Logan’s forehead. 

They left out the other side of the building, looking around carefully- There were no guards in sight. 

“Okay, they should still be set up by the lake,” Virgil said quietly. “Hopefully they’re running late.” 

They got down to the lake just as the last caravan was packing up. Patton was standing by the water, Grace settled around his shoulders, talking to a small group of people. A girl with purple and blue hair nudged Patton as she noticed them, pointing. 

Patton brightened up. “Hey! I recognize you!” He handed Grace off to the girl, and came over to them. He gasped as he saw Logan. “Oh, goodness, what happened?!” 

Damien smiled breathlessly. “Are you still accepting members?” 

Patton helped them onto the caravan, giving Logan one of the beds. The girl- Who was actually an enby, named Talyn -sat with them and did a quick psychic examination on Logan, letting Damien and Virgil know that the potion was working and he would be fine.  

Logan fully woke up a few hours later, and Damien gave him and Virgil some time alone. After a while, Virgil left to ask Patton for some food, and Damien went to sit with him. 

“What do you remember?” He asked. 

He shrugged. “Not much. I remember going to bed, and… Being attacked… And then that’s it. What happened?”

Damien laughed weakly. “It’s a long story.” 

“Virgil tells me we joined the fair?” 

“I figured it was time to leave.” 

Logan reached up and pulled Damien down, giving him a long kiss. 

Virgil came over with their food and Patton formally introduced them to everyone. He excitedly started talking about some of the acts they do, where they could use some help, and asking about weird talents they had- Which they all had a wealth of. The whole time, Logan was laying in his arms, safe. 

Damien couldn’t help but look out the window. He kept getting distracted by wild animals, by the rain. The world was much different outside the Kingdom. It was different than anything he could have imagined. And he couldn’t believe how lucky he was to actually be able to experience it, with his love and a group of friends at his side. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wowww tbh I wasn’t actually sure if I would be able to finish this when I started lmao. I started outlining this fic on June 5th, and finished editing it today, on July 27th. The fic comes to almost 15,000 words, including trigger warnings at the beginning, so probably closer to 14000.
> 
> I got a good handful of people who regularly supported me and were excited for updates, and you guys have no idea how much that helped push me through. 
> 
> Also: I’m thinking of doing a sequel, one that’s much longer. The premise would basically be Roman’s journey on usurping the King and taking the crown. You would learn a lot more about Damien’s backstory, you can meet Patton, Talyn, Joan, and Remy, and you would get to see Logan and Damien actually happy lol. Is that something you guys would be interested in?


End file.
